At the North American Leaders Summit on June 29, the United States, Mexico and Canada announced a North American Climate, Clean Energy, and Environment Partnership. The White House issued a joint Leaders’ Statement about the partnership, which is directed primarily at synchronizing the three countries’ greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction policies, but also announces commitments toward promoting clean and efficient transportation, protecting nature and advancing the science of ocean management and species conservation.
Under the partnership, the three nations pledged to advance clean and secure energy, primarily by generating half of the continent’s power from zero carbon sources by 2025. The countries will advance this clean power goal through cross-continent actions and collaborations, such as cross-border renewable energy transmission projects and the alignment of efficiency standards across the three countries. The countries also pledged to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and curb black-carbon and hydrofluorocarbon emissions.
The countries also intend to demonstrate global leadership to address climate change by working together to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement and phase out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2025.” To accompany the partnership announcement, the White House released an action plan, which identifies the activities to be pursued by the three countries. The action plan also encourages specific activities for the other G-20 governments to take to further reduce GHG emissions.